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Having Pain In Ear. Not Cured By Medicine. Diagnosed With Burst Ear Drum. Any Advice?
Question: My sister-in-law got ear pain 3 days back and some black coloured water came out of the ear. So, we contacted ENT and he said some wax got formed and he sprayed some water in to the ear and asked us to visit again after 5 days. He also prescribed some ear drops to put into the ear twice a day. From the next day onwards water with some light red colour is continuously coming/flowing out from the ear. We contacted him again and he said some infection has happened and we need to visit him after 3 days. But when we visited him for the second time in the case sheet he has written ear drum burst. So, please let us know what could be the problem?
Hello I am Dr Ravinder Sharma ENT surgeon
On the basis of information provided it appears that you have wax in ear which obscured the view of tympanic membrane on your first visit.
Tympanic membrane seperates external ear from middle ear. Middle ear is connected to throat via a tube called eustachian tube. It there is infection in throat or nose it can easily involve middle ear and can cause infection in ear.This condition is called as acute otitis media.This can lead to rupture of drum.
Pain in ear can be because of wax in ear and acute otitis media. Possibly in your case you had both these problems simultaneously. On first visit examination of drum(tympanic membrane) was not possible because of wax. In second visit you were using wax softner ear drops so the wax has melted you had continuous discharge from ear when you were using ear drops. As the wax disappeared tympanic membrane was visible.
Medical treatment with an antibiotic, analgesic and antiinflammatory drug has pretty good result in acute otitis media. I would advise you to continue treatment and avoid entry of water in ear. Most of the times it resolves with this only.
I hope this answers your concerns. Feel free to contact me if you want further information about it
With regards
Ravinder Sharma
Professor ENT & Head and Neck Surgery
On the basis of information provided it appears that you have wax in ear which obscured the view of tympanic membrane on your first visit.
Tympanic membrane seperates external ear from middle ear. Middle ear is connected to throat via a tube called eustachian tube. It there is infection in throat or nose it can easily involve middle ear and can cause infection in ear.This condition is called as acute otitis media.This can lead to rupture of drum.
Pain in ear can be because of wax in ear and acute otitis media. Possibly in your case you had both these problems simultaneously. On first visit examination of drum(tympanic membrane) was not possible because of wax. In second visit you were using wax softner ear drops so the wax has melted you had continuous discharge from ear when you were using ear drops. As the wax disappeared tympanic membrane was visible.
Medical treatment with an antibiotic, analgesic and antiinflammatory drug has pretty good result in acute otitis media. I would advise you to continue treatment and avoid entry of water in ear. Most of the times it resolves with this only.
I hope this answers your concerns. Feel free to contact me if you want further information about it
With regards
Ravinder Sharma
Professor ENT & Head and Neck Surgery
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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